Seth MacFarlane

CHICAGO – Even the most confident people behind the scenes of Seth MacFarlane’s “Ted” must have been blown away by its success, arguably the most surprising hit of 2012. $100 million domestic would have made the movie a success but it made double that and half-a-billion worldwide, ranking as the 7th highest grossing R-rated film of all time domestically. It’s a phenomenon and Universal treats it thusly with a nicely-packed Blu-ray release with deleted scenes, featurettes, and more.

CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Combo Pack with our unique social giveaway technology, we have 5 free Blu-ray and DVD combo packs up for grabs for the highly anticipated home entertainment release of “Ted” starring Mark Wahlberg from “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane!

CHICAGO – You’re probably still processing the news that Seth MacFarlane is hosting the Oscars next year and wondering if his TV show is still as funny as it used to be. Quick review? It’s not. The show has suffered creatively for a few years now as I think MacFarlane was spread too thin with his dozen or so projects. However, the DVD releases from FOX are still stellar, packed with special features.

CHICAGO – Seth MacFarlane, the writer/director of “Ted” and creator of “Family Guy” & “American Dad,” was announced today as the unexpected choice to host the “85th Annual Academy Awards,” to be broadcast on Sunday, February 24, 2013 on ABC.

CHICAGO – With shows like “Archer” and a still-creative “South Park” leading the way in TV animation along with all of the fascinating risks being taken by Adult Swim, what are we to make of a Sunday night lineup on FOX that feels more creatively stagnant than ever?

CHICAGO – “Ted” is one of the most inventive and surprising films of the year. It has a sense of humor that will be very familiar to fans of writer/director Seth MacFarlane’s “Family Guy” but is refreshingly unique in a film genre that is too often stale. In fact, most of the Summer 2012 movies have been incredibly predictable and there’s NOTHING predictable about “Ted.”

CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film with our unique social giveaway technology, we have 25 admit-two movie passes up for grabs to the advance screening of the highly anticipated new “R”-rated comedy “Ted” starring Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis from “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane!

CHICAGO – Now that most of the big summer movies have already had their trailers hit the internet, studios are realizing that we’ve probably decided whether or not we’re seeing “Avengers” (yes) or “Battleship” (no), and, as such, they’re now releasing previews for some of their more interesting films coming out later this year.

CHICAGO – The opening crawl of “Family Guy: It’s a Trap!” jokingly suggests that the viewer should lower his expectations since the writers had totally run out of steam by this point and were pressured by Fox into doing a spoof of “Return of the Jedi” to close out their “Star Wars” trilogy, now released in one Blu-ray set known as “Laugh It Up, Fuzzball: The Family Guy Trilogy.”

CHICAGO – What happens when Halloween happens to land on a Sunday night and FOX is airing the World Series? The annual tradition of the “Treehouse of Horror” episode of “The Simpsons” has to air in November. Damn you, Bud Selig. At least FOX is trying to make amends by offering not just one holiday-themed episode tonight but extending the affair to all four of their “Animation Domination” programs — “The Simpsons,” “The Cleveland Show,” “Family Guy,” and “American Dad.”